Koepka looking to secure top spot in Wyndham Rewards

SAN DIEGO – In his prime, Tiger Woods would barely look at a fellow competitor and if he did it was to deliver a stare so icy it would rip right through you. Just how he will be in the heat of battle again remains to be seen as we’ve not had the pleasure of a fully healthy Woods since 2014. But one thing is certain – this is a new Tiger Woods. Both physically – with his fused back – and mentally. On Tuesday at Torrey Pines, Woods returned to a regular PGA TOUR event for the first time in a year, playing a nine-hole practice round as the sun rose with Jason Day and Bryson DeChambeau. His appearance at the 2017 Farmers Insurance Open – where he missed the cut a week before withdrawing in Dubai and going in for further back surgery – is his only full field TOUR event since the Wyndham Championship in August of 2015. Four back surgeries since March 2014 had many worried this week would never come again. But now, at this stage, there is much hope and excitement at what a fit Woods can do. A ninth-place finish in the Bahamas at the limited field Hero World Challenge in December surprised and impressed many. A year earlier – on a similar comeback trail – he finished at the back end of the same field. And while he had shown some good signs – he was still playing rigid and still in pain. This time around, the 79-time TOUR winner looks freed up in his swing. This time he waited after surgery. This time he was patient. “The other times he came back I don’t think he was ready and he probably came back too soon,â€� Day said after the round Tuesday. “This time he definitely looks ready; I think his swing is really nice, he’s hitting the driver a long way and he looks like he’s got some speed, which is great. And his touch is coming back.â€� It was true that in his nine holes he hit some powerful drives, mint irons and wedges and holed plenty of putts. But he also found some of Torrey’s famous deep rough on occasions. Having won the Farmers Insurance Open seven times plus the U.S. Open and junior world titles at Torrey, it is a track he’s comfortable with. And the man himself feels ready. After a brief break following the Bahamas event Woods began serious preparations for his return. “I feel good,â€� Woods said. “Before the Hero I was basically given the OK probably about three or four weeks prior to the tournament and I thought I did a pretty good in that prep time. “Now I’ve had a little more time to get ready for this event. I’ve played a lot more golf and overall, I feel like I’ve made some nice changes. It’s just a matter of coming out here and competing again.â€� Having had the setbacks in the past Woods admitted he had to dial it back at times as his enthusiasm to return built. “It’s just that I’m trying to build in golf endurance. So, I’m hitting a lot of golf balls and building up my endurance,â€� he said. “You have to do it. You have to beat balls for a little bit of time to build up your endurance and muscles. I feel like I’ve done that and now it’s time to play a tournament.â€� For a long time, players wouldn’t speak to Woods unless spoken to. You could almost see the literal parting of the waves as he walked through the range or practice areas in a direct line to his destination.  He was all business. But now, at 42, Woods has evolved into a different human. In near darkness Tuesday he greeted Day on the range with a huge grin and a bear hug. Yes. A hug. Woods was all smiles with other players, caddies and officials alike – actively seeking out Justin Rose on the putting green to give another bro cuddle. At one point in the morning round, Woods went looking for one of Day’s errant drives in the rough even though Day himself had given up on it. This version of Woods is clearly a friendly guy. DeChambeau, who was playing with Woods for the first time, had to pinch himself at times. On their final hole he admitted to trying to pound his driver with something extra to show the veteran what he had. He wanted to impress. “There were a couple of moments I was like – I am playing with the greatest,â€� DeChambeau laughed. The 2017 John Deere Classic winner believes everyone wants to see Woods back to his best, and he’s expecting it to happen. “I expect he will come back to full form, I really think so,â€� he said. “His passion is there; his drive is there and if he gets it going it is going to be scary for everybody again.â€� Day, who has become friends with Woods over the past four years or so, warned to keep expectations tempered, just for now. “He looks impressive; it was good to see,â€� Day said “You take (Torrey Pines) last year and the Dubai tournament out and he hasn’t really played in two years. “I think the biggest thing is to not get too far ahead, or think he’s going to come back and win straight way. “He may win straight away, but you never know.â€� Just the hope he might has everyone wishing it was Thursday already.

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Play opens today at The American Express. The strong field includes Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson, Rickie Fowler, Patrick Reed, Gary Woodland, Tony Finau, Matthew Wolff, Cameron Champ and Patrick Cantlay. Here’s everything you need to know to follow the action. Leaderboard Full tee times HOW TO FOLLOW PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 11:30 a.m.- 7 p.m. ET (Featured Groups) Television: Thursday-Sunday, 3 p.m.-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Radio: Thursday-Saturday, 1 p.m.-7 p.m. ET. Sunday, 2 p.m.- 7 p.m. ET (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio) FEATURED GROUPS Patrick Reed, Andrew Landry, Gary Woodland Kevin Na, Matthew Wolff, Tony Finau Cameron Champ, Brooks Koepka, Paul Casey Patrick Cantlay, Phil Mickelson, Rickie Fowler Click here for the Featured Groups roundtable MUST READS Power Rankings Expert Picks Insider: Finau is doing just fine Tiger undergoes back procedure Perez discusses relationship with Michael Jordan The 15th Club: Who will win his first TOUR event in 2021?

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JERSEY CITY, N.J. — The Americans came within one match of winning the Presidents Cup. On Saturday. Anirban Lahiri made two clutch birdies that only delayed the inevitable. This is a powerful U.S. team playing to its full potential, and the result is the biggest blowout since these matches began in 1994. Lahiri and Si Woo Kim had the only victory for the International Team over two sessions. From the sun rising over the Manhattan skyline until the chilly twilight at Liberty National, the Americans poured it on. They have a 14.5-3.5 lead and need only one point Sunday to win the Presidents Cup for the seventh straight time. Phil Mickelson set a Presidents Cup record with his 25th victory, breaking the record set by Tiger Woods. Mickelson hit two wedges into birdie range in the morning foursomes session with Kevin Kisner, when the Americans won three matches and halved the other. Jordan Spieth’s best intentions cost him a hole in a ruling rarely seen in match play, though that didn’t matter. All that did was inspire Spieth and Patrick Reed to win yet another match. They are 8-1-3 as a partnership in the Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup. Justin Thomas made another big birdie on the 14th hole and cupped his hand to his ear, covered by a beanie in the chill, to fire up a crowd that didn’t need much help. Even in the lone loss of the day, the Americans made it hard on them. Charley Hoffman chipped in from short of the 17th green and body-slammed partner Kevin Chappell, a celebration that lasted only long enough for Lahiri to match his birdie with a 20-foot putt. Lahiri and Kim were 1 up playing the par-3 18th, and when Lahiri chipped to 3 feet and both Americans were in the bunker, they chose not to concede Lahiri’s putt until after Chappell had made par. It was meaningless in the big picture, yet it illustrated clearly — along with all the celebrations — that no victory is too big for this U.S. team. Hoffman was aware that his match could have ended it. “We knew what was on our shoulders,” said Hoffman, the 40-year-old who had never been in a team competition as a pro. “I didn’t have my best stuff all day long, but I had a chance. Got to give it up to Lahiri. He made some great birdies coming down the stretch, and they knocked us off.” The 11-point margin is the largest going into the 12 singles matches, breaking the International record of nine points set in 1998 at Royal Melbourne, the only time it has ever won the Presidents Cup. The 2003 matches ended in a tie. While the outcome was inevitable, this day still had its moments, none more peculiar than the 12th hole. Jason Day was already down for a birdie. Spieth had 12 feet for his birdie, while Louis Oosthuizen hit his drive behind the green on the reachable par 4 and had a shot at eagle. The ball raced by the hole and was headed down the slope with water on the other side, and the partisan American crowd was urging it to keep going. Spieth had heard enough and reached over and scooped away the moving ball with his putter. Match referee Andy McFee, a top rules chief on the European Tour, stepped in and informed Spieth that it was a violation of the first rule in golf (Rule 1-2): “A player must not take an action with the intent to influence the movement of a ball in play.” No player would ever do that in stroke play (though John Daly and Kirk Triplett did it to their golf balls on U.S. Open greens). Spieth figured the International Team already had its birdie. Even so, the rule meant Spieth was disqualified from the hole, even as Oosthuizen and Day protested. “I’m sorry for trying to do the right thing,” Spieth said to McFee, a mixture of sarcasm and frustration. That gave Day and Oosthuizen a 1-up lead that lasted only three holes. Spieth birdied the 15th to square the match, Reed hit a tee shot into the wind and along a ridge to 5 feet for birdie on the 16th, and Spieth birdied the 17th to close them out. Day went 0-4-1 in the Presidents Cup two years ago. He heads into singles with a 0-3-1 mark at Liberty National. Hideki Matsuyama has failed to win a match. Adam Scott is 0-3 and sat out the Saturday afternoon session. Dustin Johnson extended his record to 4-0 this week, teaming with Matt Kuchar for an easy victory in foursomes and riding U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka and his hot putter for a 3-and-2 victory that put the Americans on the cusp of victory. The celebration will have to wait. Lahiri missed a 3 1/2-foot putt on the 18th hole that cost the International team a rare victory in South Korea two years ago. This time he saved his team, if only for a day.

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